Gaza tunnel bombed (archives)
Photo: AFP
IDF bombs tunnel in northern Gaza
Tunnel, dug inside building located about 1.5 kilometers from border fence, aimed at smuggling terrorists into Israel. IDF says strike a response to rocket fire; no injuries reported in Strip
Israel Air Force jets bombed a tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday night. The Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson's Office said the tunnel was dug inside a building located about 1.5 kilometers (less than 1 mile) from the border fence, and was aimed at allowing terrorists to infiltrate Israel
and carry out an attack against civilians or soldiers.
The IDF said the strike was a joint activity with the Shin Bet and that an accurate hit had been identified. A military official added that the attack was a response to the firing of a Qassam rocket
from the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning.
Palestinian sources reported of the strike in the Sajaiyeh neighborhood, and did not report of injuries.
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The rocket landed in an open area near a community in the Sdot Negev Regional Council at around 6 am. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Last Tuesday, three Palestinians were reportedly killed as the IDF attacked a weapon smuggling tunnel in the Rafah area. The strike was a response to a firing incident near the border fence, which left one Palestinian killed and an IDF soldier lightly injured.
The day before Palestinians fired a mortar shell at an IDF force, which hit group of teenagers near the Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya, reportedly killing a 15-year-old boy. The Israeli army reported that the Palestinians had approached the fence and did not obey calls to stop.
Series of blasts near Hamas headquarters
Also Saturday night, Palestinian sources reported of a series of explosions in police stations and headquarters of Hamas' security forces in Gaza City. There were no reports of injuries.
Sources in the Strip estimated that the blasts were an act of revenge on the part of groups affiliated with the al-Qaeda international terror organization, who have sworn to avenge their people's death in clashes with Hamas men two weeks ago.
Some of the explosions took place in the Tel al-Hawa and Ansar area. One of the blasts was next to the home of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which has been turned into the Hamas security forces' headquarters.
The IDF denied any involvement in the explosions, and a Hamas source said that an investigation had been launched into the incident.
Twenty-four people were killed and 130 were injured in the heavy clashes which broke out in Rafah two weeks ago between Hamas and members of the Jund Ansar Allah group, after the group's leader - Abdul-Latif Moussa – claimed Hamas was not "Islamic enough" and declared the establishment of an "Islamic emirate" and his loyalty to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
Several days after the clashes, Jund Ansar Allah members denied any connection to al-Qaeda, vowing to avenge their friends' death. "We'll avenge the blood we paid and make their wives widows," they declared.
